Stuntman Who Played James Bond Character In London Olympics Opening Ceremonies Killed In Accident

The parachutist who escorted a fictional Queen Elizabeth to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics is dead after an aerial diving accident.

Mark Sutton, the 42-year old former Royal Ghurkha Rifles (RGR) officer, was wing-diving near the French border in the Swiss Alps when he jumped from a helicopter and crashed into a mountain ridge.

YouTube

He was wearing a wingsuit, described as a jumpsuit with wings that allows the diver to glide, when he and a friend were over Grandes-Otannes. Although wing-divers usually end their jumps with parachutes, it is not known whether Sutton used one during this particular jump.

Sutton was an avid wing-diver who used his YouTube account to chronicle many of his adventures, like the one below:

One of his videos, entitled 'Wingsuit Proximity Flights,' begins with the Avril Lavigne song 'How Does it Feel.' One cannot help but pay careful attention to the lyrics: "I'm not afraid of anything. I just need to know that I can breathe...I am small and the world is big; all around me is fast-moving..." It appears clear that Sutton died doing what he loved.